Darien Students Shine At 2025 Connecticut TSA Conference

DARIEN, CT — Nine students from Darien High School earned top awards at the 2025 Connecticut Technology Student Association (TSA) Conference, held Saturday, March 29, at Killingly High School.

The annual conference challenges students to take risks, collaborate, and showcase their abilities across a range of STEAM-related events.

Darien students achieved notable success through teamwork and innovation. Matilda Charland and Saanvi Ponipireddy earned second place in the Board Game Design competition for their original game, Covalent Chemistry. Ponipireddy also teamed up with Ojas Kumar to build a functioning coin sorter out of limited materials including paper, popsicle sticks, and index cards. Their project won first place in Technology Problem Solving.

In the Forensic Science category, Harrison Dilts and Hari Palaniappan analyzed a staged crime scene and produced a detailed report that secured them third place. Dilts and Palaniappan also joined Aarna Agrawal to win third place in the Technology Bowl.

Agrawal went on to earn first place in the Prepared Presentation event for her presentation on the expansion of music production and technology.

In other categories, Will Curtis placed second in Children's Stories for his story, "The Inventors Adventure." Sachi Mehta earned second place for her original song "Gear Up," composed for a role-playing game scene involving a visit to a blacksmith. Mehta was also recognized for her contributions as a Connecticut TSA state officer.

The Darien team was led by Gregory Darin, career and technical education coordinator and teacher at DHS.